The Descent
by angelladyspring
Summary: How far can heroes be pushed? When Lila's lies cause Marinette to be on the constant verge of akumatization, she confides in her partner, so he may save her (Warning: pinch of salt for every character except Marinette, classmates are sheep and OOC)


This was written as request for Shiranai Atsune (request down below as not to spoil) and was inspired by AUs by gale-of-the-nomad and lenoreraven on Tumblr. I also wrote this last summer and as such is not really Season 3 compliant (but then, Canon is dead to me anyway). Contains salt but that is not my actual opinion but it worked for the request.

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It was incredible, how good Lila could cry on call, how good she lied, how none of their classmates doubted any word when she fake cried about how Marinette hated her, how Lila just wanted to be friends, told them what Marinette allegedly said to her and did to her, words and actions that sounded so much like bullying, making everyone in class believe, Marinette, jealous girl that she was, was bullying Lila.

The fulfilment of Lila's promise of turning everyone against her came so much faster than Marinette could prepare herself for and when not even three weeks were over after the bathroom incident, she found herself isolated, everyone but Lila, Chloe and Adrien giving her angry glances, wanting Marinette to apologize for words she never said. Ladybug found herself at loss, alone in the class without her friends.

Adrien was harder for Lila to turn against her, he sat next to Marinette, when Alya moved away from Marinette but he still never said anything against Lila, never told the class Lila had lied about Ladybug only sometimes tried to persuade the class Marinette was not a bully but no one would listen to him. Lila didn't get to Adrien directly, influenced him through Kagami, whispering lies into her ears, waking the green eyes monster inside the girl.

And oh, how it worked, Kagami in her belief, Marinette was going to use Adrien not truly caring about him, just his connections, kept the two apart to the best of her abilities, subtly voicing her concerns. She knew Adrien always saw the best in people, would stand up for Marinette, so Kagami only seeded doubt at first. But she continued whispering Lila's tales into Adrien's ears until Adrien stopped defending Marinette.

One month later, Ladybug broke down in front of Chat Noir, confessing how she was constantly on the verge of becoming akumatized, all her friends had left her, Tikki had to snap her out of it, whenever an akuma came, it was only thanks to Tikki, Chat and her parents she had not yet succumbed to the akuma. Her parents were so proud of her, when her marks started improving again. Easy having time for homework when she never spent it with anyone else.

"Why are you telling me this, Bug?" Chat Noir asked, a certain feeling of thread and hope at the same time in him. "You need to know who I am so you can save me when I become akumatized. I'll try to hide the earrings, but I can't promise I'll get them off in time but with Lila spreading all those lies about me..."

Chat Noir couldn't help the icy feeling in his stomach, guilt rearing its head at the realization _Lies do fucking hurt. _And he had let Ladybug and Marinette down by not stopping Lila, not publishing how Ladybug called her out for lying because he had believed, there had been saving for Lila. Lila had hurt Ladybug and Marinette by lying, this much was evident to him.

Except... there was only one person who Lila put down, who Lila lied about. "I'm sorry, Marinette" he croaked, voice nearly dying but Ladybug heard him, nonetheless, eyes widening when she realized he knew who she was. Well, it had been her plan to tell him, so to her, it was just a problem solved. "It's not your fault, Chaton" she took a step towards him, but he put his hand up. "But it is" he said miserable, his shoulders hanging stiffly and he whispered. "Claws In". A pained gasp escaped Ladybug's lips, seeing just who was under the mask.

"Please, Marinette, I'm sorry" he told her, again and Ladybug closed her eyes. "I should be mad at you, I should hate you, but I can't lose you. You're the only one who tried to stand by my side." She sobbed, clutching herself to him. Chat Noir had grown important to her over time and he was one of the few pillars she still had. So even if Adrien had let Marinette down and not fought for her, Ladybug relied so much on Chat Noir, she forgave him, because she would break down without him at her side.

Adrien became Marinette's friend again, tuning out Kagami's jealousy, telling her Lila was a liar. But as manipulative as she was, Lila managed to turn the class against them using Adrien's many absences due to photoshoots or akumas when he did not make it to their class meetings.

"Well, it seems impressing his father is more important to him than us who love him unconditionally" she repeated frequently, easing everyone into feeling disappointed by him, until they wholly believed, he was at Marinette's side because he yearned for his father's attention and Marinette had previously impressed his father, never having truly been their friend if he sided with a bully.

At least Ladybug and Chat Noir had each other. When Adrien was dropped like a hot potato, Marinette was with him, comforting him, reassuring him. She was all that kept him going. Surprisingly, Plagg and Tikki allowed them to transform to visit each other at night for emotional support (even if Plagg often whined for cheese).

Their friendship to the others having vanished, bleed into their superhero life. At first, it's not quite as noticeable but the Ladyblog, previously having gotten good pictures of the heroes almost as if they had posed for them or a little statement after another akuma battle, they all vanished, after a month, Alya's views took a hit, sure, the Ladyblog was still a source but there were other sources who got a statement, a good photo, questions answered.

It wasn't for a while until Alya realized this herself, as Ladybug never called upon Rena Rouge or Carapace, Queen Be always the heroine on the scene when they needed help. But she had to be sure, did not want to believe Ladybug had forgotten about her, wrote an article about heroes' day when the six-month anniversary came rolling around. Rumours ranged from Carapace and Rena Rouge having broken up to they were dead. Alya cried when Ladybug announced the two superheroes' retirement when Nadja Chamack pressed for an answer. Rena Rouge and Carapace never realized how they failed Ladybug and Chat Noir too blind to see it was their civilian sides they shunned.

While Adrien had a tight schedule, Marinette didn't so any free time she had, went into finally trying to track down Hawkmoth. She and Master Fu made good progress about possible locations, but it wasn't until Adrien, joining them for one afternoon, made an offhand comment about his father and how Nathalie's condition seemed to worsen, that Master Fu voiced his concerns "Your father might be Hawkmoth after all. What you describe about Nathalie sounds like she uses the Peacock Miraculous. It's broken"

Marinette and Adrien agreed, the later feeling crushed and they called an early end to the meeting. "Please do not visit me too often, lest your father finds out about me" Master Fu ordered them. After both stepped outside, Marinette scoffed. "It's a pretence, he is keeping something from us. We'll investigate your father ourselves" Determination shone through her eyes, both fear and comfort to Adrien, but his lady was his support and he would do anything for her.

They planned the final showdown with only themselves when they confirmed their suspicions, no Queen Bee, no Master Fu and none of the other heroes. One day, Chat didn't return the Bee miraculous and Marinette swiped the fox miraculous from Fu. After all, he had dared to asked Marinette to keep an eye on Adrien so he would not join his father.

The next day, they had retrieved the two missing miraculous and gave the police the identities of the two villains under the condition the villains identities would remain under cover. Until Mayor Bourgeois caved under the pressure of the public not a mere 24 hours later to reveal Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancour as Hawkmoth and Mayura.

Lila spun some new sob story about how Adrien had been the one faulty for her akumatizations when she came under scrutiny for being one of the most akumatized person after a well-placed comment from Ladybug. There is a public outcry for Adrien Agreste to be investigated and no comment from the heroes about him being a child can dissuade the public from claiming Adrien, son of Hawkmoth guilty of the same crime.

Then Lila goes after Marinette next, she was under his care, Adrien modelled her hat, and says she stole Audrey Bourgeois seat to have her akumatized in a collaboration with Hawkmoth. The public condemns the fourteen-year-old girl, too.

Master Fu, troubled with the accusations against the two, feared they would turn on Paris in their anger, demanded the Miraculous back. He especially did not want Adrien to have his Miraculous, fearing he would try to use the power to get his mother back, like his father did and swear revenge on Lila.

"We thought you trusted us" the two teens say and Tikki and Plagg cling to them, not wanting to let them go. "They need us" the kwami say. Marinette and Adrien can't say anything, too shocked by the betrayal of their former mentor. They take the Miraculous box when Master Fu accidentally revealed, he broke the Peacock Miraculous, dooming Adrien's mother. Their trust to the former apprentice guardian who failed the Order is entirely broken. They will be better Guardians.

The final straw for them is Marinette's parents telling her, they are disappointed in her, she will stay away from Adrien, since it might not be too late for her to be better. To ensure this, they are moving to China. She did the only thing sensible to her, she ran away from home. "Chat, Adrien" she called his name, clutching his shirt even tighter and her kitty growled. "I'll never let you go" they promised at the same time. "It's us against the whole world"

When Paris abandoned civilian Ladybug and Chat Noir, Miss Fortune and Cat Calamity rose. "They want us to be the villains? So be it"

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The request was a villain fic and I went for a 'villain-origin' Story. I also took liberty with villain!Chat name because Chat Blanche is now his Canon!Akuma Name and I wanted something different.

If I ever continue this, I'm probably going to bump the Rating up to M. Let me know what you think about my story and if you want more


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